The London Sunday Times had an article yesterday about happiness at work and why it’s great to like your job. They’re asking many different experts in the field, and I’m quoted as well:
The biggest single step that individuals can take is to choose to be happy, said Alex Kjerulf, chief happiness officer at the Happy at Work Consultancy and the author of Happy Hour is 9-5. “Rather than settling for a job that’s not too bad, say to yourself ‘I want to be happy at work’,” he said. “You can be happy as a bus driver, as a mortuary worker, as a doctor . . . but a lot of people don’t seem to want to be.”
There’s lots more – read the entire article here.
One of the best ways I’ve been able to find happiness at work, is to always make sure that my job activities are in some way moving me forward, teaching me new skills, or providing me with networking opportunities that make me more valuable in the work place. I think people are often the most unhappy at work when they don’t see how their day-to-day duties translate to real growth.
1. A positive mindset (attitude, thinking, reaction) is an option for all of us. We can find the good or we can inhabit the bad (as many do). We can be the solution person or the problem person. We can be proactive or reactive. We can be the light in the darkness or the darkness in the light. And we can be the victor or the victim. For most of us our mind is our reality, so we best take charge of it. Good or bad, hard or easy, terrifying or exciting is determined by us and us alone.
2. With a better mindset comes better decisions. The ones that many would avoid. The uncomfortable but necessary decisions. The logical and not the emotional.
3. With better decisions comes better behaviours and habits. Put simply, we do better. Always a good thing.
4. And with better habits and behaviours comes better results. What we want. Of course.
Being happy at work is very important for mental and physical health. Top ways that help me be happy in the workplace include having good working relationships with co-workers, getting along well with my manager, being able to turn dreary and monotonous tasks into something less boring and having enough challenging and interesting tasks to enable me to learn and grow.